UGANDA: MUSEVENI AND NRM SPEAK OUT AGAINST TORTURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 001249

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV UG
SUBJECT: UGANDA: MUSEVENI AND NRM SPEAK OUT AGAINST TORTURE

REF: A. KAMPALA 01218

B. KAMPALA 01074

C. KAMPALA 01075

D. STATE 67260

E. KAMPALA 00462

Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Aaron Sampson for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) President Museveni vowed on October 14 to "severely"
punish any Ugandan security officials guilty of torture, and
a senior National Resistance Movement (NRM) spokesperson also
condemned the use of torture. While Ugandan officials
continue to say the right things, their willingness to
restrain the paramilitary outfits most often linked to
torture allegations remains uncertain. The recent cosmetic
reshuffle of the Police's Rapid Response Unit (RRU) following
high profile allegations of illegal detention and torture,
and a closed trial against the head of the Chieftaincy of
Military Intelligence (CMI) over torture charges, provide two
examples of the gray area between words and deeds when it
comes to eliminating torture in Uganda. End Summary.

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Museveni: Torturers Will be Punished
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2. (SBU) President Museveni told assembled local journalists
on October 14 that anyone guilty of torturing Ugandans "will
definitely be punished severely." Museveni was responding to
a question about Uganda's efforts to eliminate torture in
light of the recently released Ugandan Human Rights
Commission (UHRC) report for 2008 (ref. A). The report
identified state security agencies as Uganda's leading human
rights abusers. Admitting that he had not yet read the UHRC
report, Museveni nevertheless said he expects the "leaders of
security agencies to follow up the allegations. If they are
true...Luzira Prison is the address for such people who break
laws. Anybody breaking the law will go there."


3. (SBU) Museveni also fielded a question from Reuters on the
September 11 arrest and beating of journalist Robert Kalundi
Sserumaga (ref. B). Museveni said he saw no problem with
arresting individuals if they break the law, but that he
would have to follow up on allegations that Sserumaga was
bundled into the trunk of a car. "The manner of the arrest,"
said the President, "is what we don't accept. Someone should
be arrested in a civilized manner." NOTE: Although Reuters
and others continue to report that Sserumaga was forced into
a trunk, Sserumaga told us he was put in the back seat of an
unmarked vehicle by unidentified men. END NOTE.

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NRM: Torture By State Security Services Shameful
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4. (SBU) On Oct. 18, NRM deputy spokesperson Ofwono Opondo
described the UHRC's findings as a "stinging report
indicting" the military (UPDF),police and prisons. Opondo
said it was a "shame" that the UPDF and the police topped the
UHRC's 2008 list of human rights offenders. "Reports of
continued abuse," said Opondo, "both in gazetted and
non-gazetted places of detention alongside rampant
corruption, serves as a rude and sad reminder that the NRM
needs to tighten its noose around the necks of perpetrators
of these crimes." Opondo noted that "all the security
services (the UPDF, the Police, prisons, and intelligence
agencies) today have highly educated and politically
conscious personnel and it surprises that torture still
exists in their ranks. It is also shocking to learn that for
the last 10 years, Parliament has never found it necessary to
discuss and enforce reports and recommendations of the UHRC
to which it allocates money annually."

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Torture Allegations against the RRU and CMI
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5. (C) On October 17 the Inspector General of Police (IGP),
Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, reshuffled the Police's Rapid
Response Unit (RRU) after the wife of the Executive Director
of Uganda's National Forestry Authority accused the RRU of
threatening torture while illegally detaining her for more
than a week. The Forestry Director and his wife are
allegedly involved in a USD 450,000 embezzlement scandal.
According to local media reports, the police reassigned the
RRU's Director, Commandant Emmanuel Muhairwe, and two
deputies, Peter Kakonge and Emmanuel Bwembale, to extended
study leave. Maj. Gen. Kayihura named David Magara as
interim RRU director. Magara, a known human rights violator

KAMPALA 00001249 002 OF 002


(ref. D),was the RRU Director until March 2009, when he was
reassigned as Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigations
Directorate.


6. (SBU) Meanwhile, a torture case against the Chieftaincy of
Military Intelligence (CMI) levied by Mayor of Hoima, Francis
Atugonza, is proceeding behind closed doors at Uganda's High
Court. Atugonza (who is also the Forum for Democracy and
Change (FDC) party's Trade and Industry Secretary) alleges he
was tortured by soldiers attached to the Joint Anti-Terrorism
Taskforce (JATT) in April 2009. The JATT, which is a
paramilitary unit composed of members from various security
agencies, operates under CMI authority. Defendants in the
case are CMI Director Brig. Gen. James Mugira , Maj. Benson
Monday, Maj. Abel Kandiho, Lt. C.K. Assiimwe, and Lt. Alex
Tumushabe.


7. (SBU) High Court Justice Yorokamu Bamwine barred the
public from court proceedings in the interests of national
security. Atugonza alleges he was arrested, beaten and
detained at a CMI "safe house" next door to the Danish
Embassy in Kampala. FDC president Kizza Besigye previously
threatened to sue Minister of Security Amama Mbabazi over
Atugonza's treatment, but FDC lawyers reportedly advised
against this course of action. CMI Chief Mugira has said he
was out of the country at the time of Atugonza's arrest and
that the CMI does not use torture.


8. (C) On October 24 the Chairman of the UHRC told the
Mission that he had sent a letter to IGP Kayihura asking for
an internal police investigation of the RRU. The UHRC
Chairman also described the court case against the CMI as a
positive development because it marks an attempt to hold
specific individual officers responsible for illegal
practices.

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Comment: Words vs. Action
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9. (C) We continue to regard the leadership of the JATT,
CMI, RRU, and Internal Security Organization (ISO)
accountable for the actions of their organizations (ref. E).
Parliamentary passage of pending anti-torture legislation
would go a long way towards backing up and giving meaning to
verbal pronouncements against torture articulated by
President Museveni and others.
LANIER